Verse 12

I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.

15-18; 4:1; 24:6; Psalms 137:9

Verse 13

Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.

I will
Joel 3:16; Haggai 2:6,7,21,22; Matthew 24:29; Hebrews 12:26,27; Revelation 6:13,14
the earth
Jeremiah 4:23,24; Matthew 24:35; 2 Peter 3:10; Revelation 20:11
in the wrath
Psalms 110:5,6; Lamentations 1:12; Nahum 1:4-6

Verse 14

And it shall be as the chased roe, and as a sheep that no man taketh up: they shall every man turn to his own people, and flee every one into his own land.

as the
17:13; 1 Kings 22:17,36
they shall
47:15; Jeremiah 50:16; 51:9; Revelation 18:9,10

Verse 15

Every one that is found shall be thrust through; and every one that is joined unto them shall fall by the sword.

14:19-22; 47:9-14; Jeremiah 50:27,35-42; 51:3

Verse 16

Their children also shall be dashed to pieces before their eyes; their houses shall be spoiled, and their wives ravished.

children
Psalms 137:8,9; Hosea 10:14; Nahum 3:10
and their
Lamentations 5:11; Zechariah 14:2

Verse 17

Behold, I will stir up the Medes against them, which shall not regard silver; and as for gold, they shall not delight in it.

I will
3-5; 21:2; 41:25; Jeremiah 50:9; 51:11,27,28; Daniel 5:28-31
shall not regard
Proverbs 6:34,35

Verse 18

Their bows also shall dash the young men to pieces; and they shall have no pity on the fruit of the womb; their eye shall not spare children.

shall dash
16; 2 Kings 8:12; Hosea 13:16; Nahum 2:1; 3:10
their eye
2 Chronicles 36:17; Ezekiel 9:5,6,10

Verse 19

And Babylon, the glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excellency, shall be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

Babylon
Babylon, whose destruction and utter ruin are here predicted, was situated in the midst of a large plain, having a very deep and fruitful soil, on the Euphrates, about 252 miles south-east of Palmyra, and the same distance north-west of Susa and the Persian gulf, in lat. 32 degrees 30' N. and long. 44 degrees 20' E. According to Herodotus, it formed a perfect square, each side of which was 120 stadia, and consequently its circumference 480 stadia, or sixty miles; inclosed by a wall 200 cubits high, and fifty wide, on the top of which were small watch towers of one story high, leaving a space between them, through which a chariot and four might pass and turn. On each side were twenty-five gates of solid brass; from each of which proceeded a street, 150 feet broad, making in all fifty streets; which, crossing each other at right angles, intersected the city into 676 squares, extending four stadia and a half on each side, along which stood the houses, all built three or four stories high, and highly decorated towards the street; the interior of these squares being employed as gardens, pleasure grounds, etc. Its principal ornaments were the temple of Belus, having a tower of eight stories, upon a base of a quarter of a mile square; a most magnificent palace; and the famous hanging gardens, or artificial mountains raised upon arches, and planted with large and beautiful trees. Cyrus took it by diverting the waters of the Euphrates, which ran through the midst, and entering by the channel; and the river being never restored to its proper course, overflowed the whole country, and made it a morass. Darius Hystaspes afterwards depopulated the place, lowered the walls, and demolished the gates; Xerxes destroyed the temples; the building of Seleucia nearly exhausted it of its inhabitants; a king of the Parthians carried a number of them into slavery, and destroyed the most beautiful parts; so that modern travellers describe it as a mass of shapeless ruins, the habitation of wild beasts.
14:4-6,12-15; Jeremiah 51:41; Daniel 2:37,38; 4:30
when God overthrow
Heb. the overthrowing of.
Genesis 19:24; Deuteronomy 29:23; Jeremiah 49:18; 50:40; Zephaniah 2:9

Verse 20

It shall never be inhabited, neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation: neither shall the Arabian pitch tent there; neither shall the shepherds make their fold there.

14:23; Jeremiah 50:3,13,21,39,45; 51:25,29,43,62-64; Revelation 18:21-23

Verse 21

But wild beasts of the desert shall lie there; and their houses shall be full of doleful creatures; and owls shall dwell there, and satyrs shall dance there.

But
34:11-15; Revelation 18:2
wild beasts
Heb. Ziim. doleful creatures. Heb. Ochim. owls. or, ostriches. Heb. daughters of the owl.

Verse 22

And the wild beasts of the islands shall cry in their desolate houses, and dragons in their pleasant palaces: and her time is near to come, and her days shall not be prolonged.

the wild beasts
Heb. Iim. desolate houses. or, palaces. dragons.
35:7
her time
Deuteronomy 32:35; Jeremiah 51:33; Ezekiel 7:7-10; Habakkuk 2:3; 2 Peter 2:3; 3:9,10